Oppenheimer Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Stock

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $575.00 to $600.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective points to a potential upside of 60.42% from the stock’s current price.

UTHR has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on United Therapeutics from $315.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on United Therapeutics from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America lowered their target price on United Therapeutics from $303.00 to $280.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on United Therapeutics from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered United Therapeutics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $321.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

United Therapeutics Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UTHR opened at $374.02 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $355.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.65. United Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $208.62 and a 52-week high of $377.92. The company has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The biotechnology company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.16 by $0.23. United Therapeutics had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 40.31%. The firm had revenue of $748.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Therapeutics will post 24.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Therapeutics

In other United Therapeutics news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total value of $8,084,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares in the company, valued at $833,350.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael Benkowitz sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.38, for a total transaction of $8,084,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,350.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Edgemond sold 7,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.99, for a total value of $2,855,916.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,358,277.74. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,412 shares of company stock worth $33,971,508 over the last 90 days. 11.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in United Therapeutics by 176.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,315 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,288,000 after buying an additional 9,133 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 25,686 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of United Therapeutics by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 165,911 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $38,113,000 after purchasing an additional 9,244 shares during the period. Tri Locum Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,959,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Therapeutics by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,321 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Therapeutics Company Profile

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients.